Cell Membrane and Cell Polarity Flashcards
Part of the plasma membrane which creates a barrier to most water soluble molecules
Lipids
Make up roughly 30% of the genome
Transmembrane proteins
The lipid and protein interactions in the plasma membrane are
Non-covalent
Proteins and lipids can often move in the
Bilayer
What are the four classes of membrane lipids?
- ) Phosphoglycerides
- ) Sphingolipids
- ) Glycolipids
- ) Sterols
Derived from 3-carbon glycerol backbone with 2 fatty acid chains attached to backbone
-There are three major types
Phosphoglycerides
Derived from sphingosine backbones
-Sphingomyelin is a major one
Sphingolipids
Often a sphingosene backbone with carbohydrates on the external face
Glycolipids
The four major classes of membrane lipids make up what percentage of the membrane mass?
50%
Their structure allows them to assemble into a bilayer which insulates the cell from the environment
Lipids
Amphipathic membrane lipids assemble spontaneously
into lipid bilayers and then into
Liposomes
Lipids in solution will first form a bilayer, with hydrophobic regions insulated from water, then free edges will associate to form a
Liposome
One chain lipids in solution will form
Micelles
What is the basic structure of a phosphoglyceride?
head group, then a phosphate, glycerol, and 2 hydrocarbon tails
Two fatty acid chains attach to two of the three carbons of the
Glycerol backbone
Importantly, one of the two chains is typically
-opposes dense packing and leads to membrane fluidity
Unsaturated (has a double bond)
The three major phospholipid groups of the plasma membrane are named according to their head groups. What are they?
- ) Phosphatidyl Ethanolamine
- ) Phosphatidyl Serine
- ) Phosphatidyl Choline
Has a net negative charge
Phosphatidyl Serine
What are the five major lipids of the plasma membrane?
- ) Phosphatidyl Ethanolamine
- ) Phosphatidyl Serine
- ) Phosphatidyl Choline
- ) Sphingomyelin
- ) Sphingosine
Stiffens regions of the plasma membrane in its vicinity
-found in both leaflets of plasma membrane
Cholesterol
Its aliphatic regions keep phospholipid chains apart
Cholesterol
How many types of glycolipids are there?
40 types
Charged glycolipids
Gangliosides
Derived from sphingosine but have sugars added rather than phosphate
Glyclipids